Match Preview: Ireland v Georgia

Ireland will gun for their second World Cup bonus point win tonight against Georgia in Bordeaux, hoping at the same time to edge closer to the performance level their next two games - against hosts France and Pool D leaders Argentina - will undoubtedly require.

Universally frustrated by the lacklustre win over Namibia, the Irish squad look primed for some retribution against Georgia, whom they last faced five years ago in a World Cup qualifier.

Confident his side will lift their game, Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll spoke yesterday of the "narkiness" that has been evident on the training pitch at Stade Bordelais this week.

"There's been a real competitive edge and the players have been having a bit of a go at each other in training. No one's been holding back. But that's a good step forward to hopefully playing better against the Georgians," O'Driscoll said.

Coach Eddie O'Sullivan, who has made one change to the side that started the 32-17 victory over Namibia, concurred with his skipper, adding: "There's a real buzz in the camp. We had a particularly hard hit-out on Tuesday. It's always a bit of a risk letting the dogs loose at training because someone can get hurt, but the atmosphere's been really great all week."

The one change is personnel sees the return of Shane Horgan, who has bounced back from a knee ligament strain, to the right wing, with finger injury victim Andrew Trimble dropping to the replacements bench.

The game marks number eight Denis Leamy's 25th appearance for his country while blindside flanker Simon Easterby is winning his 60th Irish cap.

Centre O'Driscoll is equalling Brendan Mullin's Irish World Cup caps record of 11 games and the Leinster star could also take Keith Wood's Irish World Cup try-scoring record with a single try - his sixth touchdown in tournament history.

An altogether more consistent game is called for from Ireland if they are to have genuine hopes of making it out of Pool D - they need to tighten things up at the breakdown and lineout, build on the good scrum work put in against the Namibians, concentrate on building through the phases, erase the handling errors and most importantly play to the potential that they unquestionably have.

There is added pressure on their shoulders tonight. They need a top drawer performance to build some momentum heading into the Stade de France showdown with France next Friday.

The winning margins in Ireland's only two previous games against Georgia were 70 and 47 points. The eastern Europeans, dogged in defence and up front but quite limited in attack, kept Argentina to 30 points last Tuesday in Lyon, so a winning spread of 30-40 points - with four or more tries - and a rekindling of their Six Nations form would be a satisfying return for O'Sullivan's men.

The Georgians can be exposed out wide so expect Ronan O'Gara to put up more than a few cross-field kicks in the direction of returning winger Horgan.

Also in Ireland's favour is the fact that Georgia have made eleven changes to the team they started with against the Pumas. A mix of first and second choice players will be in red tonight and more than a few nerves, but Merab Kvirikashvili is a steadying presence at number 10.

Georgian coach Malkhaz Tcheishvili has rested some key players - including tighthead prop Davit Zirakachvili and winger Iraki Machkhaneli - with an eye on the September 26 clash with Namibia, which is certainly their best ever chance of posting a World Cup win.

Conditions are unlikely to be a factor tonight as it is a clear, dry night in Bordeaux with a light wind not expected to cause the kickers concern.

Winger Denis Hickie, who is part of an all-Leinster back three, reckons Ireland need to take a leaf out of Australia's book after they piled on the points in the second half of their 91-3 thumping of Japan.

â00Australiaâ00s performance is something we should have emulated (against Namibia). Even at half-time they werenâ00t up by that much. They didnâ00t panic, just kept plugging at it. We just got worse," Hickie admitted.

â00If we cut out the individual errors then we will go a long way to getting back to where we were â00 thatâ00s what we must focus on against Georgia.â0

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Jenny Murphy talks about the progress made by the Ireland Women's Sevens team and their pool draw for the upcoming Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Conor Murray and Tommy Bowe speak to Irish Rugby TV about their Rugby World Cup preparations and thank the thousands of supporters who came out to see the players at the open training session at the Sportsground.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell gives his verdict on the team's new Rugby World Cup jersey and talks about his move to French club Toulon. Ireland's RWC 2015 range is available to pre-order now from http://shop.irishrugby.ie.

Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, talks about the target of a top three finish for both the Ireland Men and Women in Lisbon this weekend, as they continue on their quests for Olympic qualification.

Tom Daly, who recently captained the Ireland Men's Sevens team to the European Division C and B titles, is looking forward to playing in this weekend's Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ireland will host the 'Women's Sevens Dublin' at UCD on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23. Tournament director Garrett Tubridy and Ireland stars Lucy Mulhall, Jenny Murphy and Louise Galvin speak about their excitement ahead of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series qualifier.

Coach Allen Clarke and stand-in captain Billy Holland answer questions from the media following Emerging Ireland's 45-12 victory over Georgia in the final round of their successful Tbilisi Cup campaign.

Emerging Ireland coach Allen Clarke speaks about his side's five-try 33-7 win over Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup and the first half injury to captain Rhys Ruddock. They wrap up the tournament against hosts Georgia on Sunday.

Speaking about the floods that occurred following the Tbilisi Cup's first round, Emerging Ireland team manager Joey Miles said: "A natural event like that, a tragedy like that puts the game of rugby into perspective. We express our regrets to the Georgian people and the Georgian Union for the terrible tragedy that they had."

David O'Reilly from the IRFU Charitable Trust's Corporate Patrons Committee speaks about the new scheme which provides businesses with unique networking opportunities and provides a platform for companies to effectively activate their CSR programmes. For further information, please contact Linda Black of the Charitable Trust - telephone (01) 6473866 or email: linda.black@irfu.ie / http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/34728.php.